Video [With bonus linkshell issues]

[topgun_textiles]

[Hey, it's some guy standing in his bedroom wearing street clothes. But in the next moment, with a rush of power, he's adorned in a set of armor. It's a mingling of steel plating, chain, and coarse fur draped over the shoulders, topping a cloak down the back. The giant hammer was lifted, swung like it weighed nothing, and settled against the fur-covered pauldron. The grin he gave the camera was pretty toothy.]

Yo! Name's Kanji. I said I'd go all out and be myself, so here I am.

I make stuff! Y'know, dolls, knit blankets, a whole bunch of cute shit. And there ain't a damn thing wrong with that, y'hear me? But I'm officially offering my services in makin' stuff like that for... y'know, birthdays or whatever.

But this right here's my gear for my Berserker Asterisk, and I can put somethin' together for you guys, too. I'm takin' commissions for job outfits, either to make 'em myself or work up design sketches to have made later once your mind's all made up.

...Uhhh... [He paused, and his expression faltered as he tried to think of something. Then a gloved hand went to mess with his hair as he gave a small, unsure growl in his throat. He had to be forgetting something, and it wasn't coming to mind.]

Yeah, I think that's it? Never advertised before. But I gave it a good shot.

[He nodded to someone off-camera, and the feed cuts.]




[An hour or so later, it's time for a private message. However, it was a technical oversight sort of evening. In contrast to the guy showing up earlier with slangy, slouchy confidence, he seemed a bit fidgety this time around.]

Y-... yo, Naoto! So this ain't a huge deal, but I'm almost done with your birthday present and I, uh... I need to make sure it fits. Normally the person would put the stuff on and see if somethin' needs to be looser or tighter and I'd just fix it no problem, but I wanna keep the final outfit a complete surprise.

So that means... w-well, it... that means I'd...

[His eyes turned away from the camera, his face an awkward pink.]

I-I need to take a couple measurements later if- if that's cool with you!

Comments

[omnicrafter]

[That expression she's wearing? It's... dangerously speculative.]

So... from the sound of it, your professional interests and your personal interests are colliding a bit.

...That's both adorable and hilarious. How old are you?

[topgun_textiles]

I... are they? I mean...

I'm sixteen. What's that gotta do with anything?

[omnicrafter]

Well, you said it yourself, didn't you? You don't want to come off as "a creep", and you're getting all worked up over something so trivial as getting into her personal sphere for completely innocuous reasons...

[A pause. She could just lay it all out on the table for him, but on the other hand... sixteen-year-old boys, man.]

But if it troubles you so, I could always lend a hand. I do quite a bit of tailoring in my own right.

[topgun_textiles]

So you know where I'm comin' from! How does it get easier? I mean, there's gotta be people you made stuff for where it's like... uh...

[How does he put it? He ran his fingers through his hair and his gaze seemed far-off.]

...You can be near 'em for the most part, but they make your guts twist up. You like being around 'em a lot, but they also got scary-ass laser eyes.

Y'know, not LITERALLY, but a hell of a glare.

[omnicrafter]

[A thoughtful pause. Maybe a little bit, but she'd usually stuck to things that didn't require measurements in those cases...

And that's a whole different kettle of fish she'd rather not touch on, besides.]

That's called a crush, dear. I think most of us have those, yes.

[topgun_textiles]

[There was an odd, choked sound in his throat as he sank away from the frame of the camera, only a few tufts of that ridiculous bleached hair remaining.]

I was try'na be sly about-

Sh-shit ain't private here...! Keep it down, will ya!?

[omnicrafter]

[Excuse her while she has a good giggle off-camera.

When she comes back on, she's composed -- mostly.]

All right, all right. I can't needle you too badly about it, all things considered. That said, are you sure you don't want some help?

[topgun_textiles]

I think... I think havin' a crew would embarrass her. Maybe if I do somethin' bigger, if this all takes off, I'd go all out with it.

[omnicrafter]

Well, then your options are to either suck it up and keep it in your pants for a bit, or think of something that doesn't require measurements in the first place. Right?

[topgun_textiles]

...What do my pants gotta do with it...?